Senegalese Summer Giveaway – NYC

I get emails from PR people all the time about events around the city. A lot of times the events are lame, but this one sounded pretty cool. Pierre Thiam, the chef and owner of Le Grand Dakar in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn is having a viewing party called Senegalese Summer next Thursday (June 24, 2010) for his battle with Bobby Flay on Iron Chef America. Not into Iron Chef? Well that’s okay, because there will also be food (such as shrimp & sweet potato croquettes, oven roasted dates stuffed with spiced lamb, black eyed pea fritters, and skewered grilled steak with ginger & peanut crust) and unlimited sangria. Still not convinced? Well, there will also be music. Jojo Kuo — a veteran jazz, Afro pop, and World drummer who has collaborated with Fela Kuti — will also be performing. (There’s a nice story about him and his collab with Fela on Lens, The New York Times‘ photography blog.)

Tickets are going for $25 advance/$30 at the door, but I have two tickets to give away to one lucky reader. To enter, write in the comments below your favorite Senegalese or West African dish. If you’ve never had either, simply write what you’d like to try. I’ll be picking one person at random. No heart-wrenching stories necessary. Giveaway will end on Monday (June 21, 2010) at noon. Good luck!

Update I (6/21/2010): The winner is “someguy.” Congratulations! Thanks everyone for participating!Update II (6/21/2010): For those who missed out, Serious Eats: New York is giving away another pair of tickets. Good luck again!